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Technopaedia —

Sexting

"Sexting"—the practice of sending sexually explicit photographs or videos to friends or lovers—poses thorny questions about sexuality, child pornography, and punishment. Once a novelty, the rise in cellphone and laptop ownership among high school students in particular has made the practice nearly mainstream. Lawmakers are struggling to catch up.

The difficulty is that most such pictures involve underage kids. So long as they remain private, the state has little reason to get involved. But what happens when the pictures are disseminated to hundreds of high school students, and perhaps even more broadly to the general Internet population? Is it child pornography? And if so, who should be punished for?

The complexity of the issue has already led eighth-graders into federal lawsuits even as judges try to decide if a girl who snaps a nude photograph of herself can be considered a child porn perpetrator or victim. A 2010 paper (PDF) written by Dena Sacca, a former Assistant US Attorney for Massachusetts, serves as a reminder of sexting's complexity and variety.

"In Massachusetts, police were considering criminal charges after an eighth grade girl sent pictures of herself to her eighth grade boyfriend, who then sold the images to other children for $5."

"In Virginia, two male high school students, aged 15 and 18, were charged with possession of child pornography and electronic solicitation for nude and semi‐nude images of minor girls contained on cell phones after they actively solicited the photos from younger female students for trade among themselves."

In Florida, "an 18‐year‐old high school senior who had recently broken up with his 16‐year‐old girlfriend e-mailed everyone on his ex‐girlfriend’s e-mail contact list nude images that she had originally e-mailed only to him. He was convicted under state child pornography law and required to register as a sex offender."

"In Wisconsin, a 17‐year‐old boy was charged with possession of child pornography after posting naked pictures of his 16‐year‐old ex‐girlfriend online with captions [crude captions deleted]."

"Also in Wisconsin, an 18‐year‐old was sentenced to 15 years in prison for an extortion scheme in which he tricked male classmates into sending him nude photos of themselves and then blackmailed them with exposure if they refused to have sex with him."

Many US states have now weighed in, softening harsh child pornography laws so that high schoolers aren't swept up by them. One preferred approach is to decriminalize sexting so long as the images remain private; other states have stressed education instead.